Kamen Rider Irei (仮面ライダー慰霊)
by dfox300
Summary: A young tour guide at a museum discovers her status as a descendant of a powerful onmyōji when mysterious forces start turning the souls of the dead into monsters that harm the living. Using the power of an ancient belt and scrolls containing yōkai, she transforms into a Kamen Rider to protect the living and bring salvation to the restless dead (Cross-posted on AO3)


Ireisai (慰霊祭) – A festival meant for remembering and pacifying the spirits of those that died in times of strife which usually take place at Yasukuni Jinja as well as other shrines built to the purpose

* * *

_He wished to smoke a pipe, as it would be the last he would have. The king allowed it, so the soldier took his tinder-box, and struck it three times. ANd there in a moment stood all the dogs: the first with eyes as big as teacups, the second with eyes as large as mill-wheels, and the third with eyes that were like towers._

-_ The Tinderbox_, by Hans Christian Andersen

* * *

**_Ten years ago, an apartment somewhere in Japan…_**

"I have to hurry…"

A woman wearing a lab coat in her early forties was rapidly typing into a laptop, her face in panic as muffled yelps and angry voices could be heard outside her apartment. She knew all too well that her traps will only slow down the ones who are after her, thus she must finish the last of her calculations.

"Daisuke, if you are receiving this, I want you to know that I have finally found the secret to defeating Anathema… Everything in these files that I am sending you along with this video contains the answer… Who would have thought that the secret to defeating them lies in my family's legacy, right under our noses all this while…"

The door behind the woman shuddered as someone began pounding against it. The woman panicked, turned around to take a glance. She calculated that the door will only hold for ten more blows, six if the intruder was using an axe or a ram. The makeshift barricade she had made around the door would only buy her a few minutes at most.

She has to wrap up what she was doing.

"Once you receive the files, you will be the only one with the copy. Every clue to the items vital for the coming battle is in there. For my part, I have to destroy every research I have to protect you and my dearest daughter. As you can see behind me, Anathema has found my hideout."

The door was starting to give way.

"Please, forgive me, and do not come looking for me. Promise me that you'll take care of my daughter for me… I love you, Daisuke, and I'm sorry you never got the chance to be Kotoe's father… But I will be with you and Kotoe always…"

With that, the woman, a sad smile on her face, ended the video recording and clicked the "Send" button on her laptop. As the door could be heard collapsing, the sending was completed, and immediately, the woman chucked the laptop into a safe and shut it tight.

Almost immediately, the woman was shot twice in the back, right before she could punch in the code. Dropping to the floor, she felt a vicious kick to her side that caused her to turn over and watch her shooter standing over her.

"Dr Ashiya Kazue, you are a very hard woman to find. Like a cockroach… But whatever you have plotted against us ends with you tonight…"

The woman merely spat blood at the boot of her shooter, who fired one more round into her head in response.

"Damned bitch… Open the box and get the laptop."

Two other men in the room with the shooter immediately went to open the safe, but as they did so, a suspicious clicking sound is heard.

From a black car below the apartment, a Caucasian man wearing a black hat and dressed in a three-piece suit calmly stared at the explosion that just occurred before throwing a cigarette he had been smoking to the floor.

"Damn woman knows how to keep things out of our hands, huh? Well, it doesn't change things, only make them more difficult to accomplish," he mused as he got back into the car and drove off as sirens could be heard in the distance…

* * *

**Kamen Rider Irei/仮面ライダー慰霊**

**Chapter 1: The Girl Who Dances With Yōkai**

* * *

_**Present day, 2023, Kyoto, Japan…**_

"Good afternoon, kids! I'm Kotoe, and I'll be your guide as you visit the Koyū Museum of International Culture and Folklore, where you'll not only be studying Japan's own folklores, but also that of other countries!"

The schoolkids cheered as a pretty Japanese girl with a messy, styled bob cut wearing a tour guide uniform escorted them into the Koyū Museum of International Culture and Folklore while on the other side, several workers were doing their best to get ready for the mayor's visit to the museum for its tenth anniversary.

Kotoe, who had just celebrated her twentieth birthday, could not help but smile as the kids went wide-eyed at the various artifacts on display in the museum. Some were donations from other countries, others were personally found by the museum's curator, the world-renowned folklorist and archaeologist Mizorogi Daisuke.

"So, kids, you wanna start with the local ones or the foreign ones?"

Unlike most classes that Kotoe had been escorting for the last few months, this particular batch of schoolkids actually wanted to see the foreign displays first, and thus Kotoe led them into a room where several artifacts from various parts of South-east Asia were kept.

"These two masks here are one of several generous donations from Indonesia. The one on the right is Barong and the other is Rangda. So, which one do you think is the good one and which is the evil one?"

The schoolkids all pointed to the Barong mask.

"Good guess! In Balinese culture, Barong is king of the spirits, leader of all that is good and the mortal enemy of Rangda, demon queen and leader of all that is evil. You will be surprised, however, to know that despite being portrayed as the villain most of the time, Rangda is also considered a protective deity in parts of Indonesia…"

Across the room, Mizorogi Daisuke was watching Kotoe explaining to the schoolkids about Barong and Rangda. At the age of forty-eight, Daisuke was one of the rare few people who have embraced the mysteries of ancient cultures and mythology in a world where technology was rapidly replacing the olden ways of life, having inherited the position of the museum's curator from his late father. Beside him was an older man wearing a two-piece suit who was accompanied by a young man with a short taper cut and a stern expression.

"It seems like Guide Kotoe happens to be the liveliest guide in this museum of yours, Daisuke," the older man commented.

"Well, Sousuke, it's hard to find someone who shows so much enthusiasm towards folklore and ancient culture nowadays. The modernizing of time has led to many people around the world forgetting about their own traditions, history and beliefs."

"Well, we police officers are no strangers to certain traditions. Do you know that in parts of China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, there are altars dedicated to Guan Yu, a famous general from Shu during the Three Kingdoms Era? Well, I also found out that the criminal underground in those countries also have altars dedicated to him. See, the police worship him for he represents righteousness, but the criminal underground worship him because of his undying loyalty."

"Oh, how interesting! Perhaps I should have an altar set up in the China section of my museum."

The conversation was interrupted by the young man who tapped the older man, Sousuke, on the shoulders.

"What is it, Minoru?"

"Dad, why does that tour guide look so familiar?"

"Oh, Guide Kotoe? Oh, she won gold in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics," Daisuke explained.

"Wait, the Ashiya Kotoe? The high school taekwondo genius?" the young man, Minoru asked in surprise.

"Yes, and the 2019 International Championship, the 2018 Japan High School Competition, and then a number of local competitions, even won a couple of competitions in South Korea," Daisuke said.

"In case you haven't noticed, she also lives in an apartment right next to our Kyoto Prefectural Police Station for that same reason. Paparazzi won't stop hounding her and several of them ended up with fractured jaws from her kicks. Anyways, that's that. I'm surprise you never saw her around the neighbourhood whenever you go out for patrol, Minoru."

"Er, dad, I'm posted at a kōban, not the station, remember?"

"Oh, right… Anyways, Daisuke, I heard the new mayor's personally paying a visit to your museum next week."

"Of course, Sousuke. Besides, you are on the guest list."

"And I am quite grateful for the invitation. Now, me and Minoru have to go to work. We'll catch up next time," Sousuke said as he and Minoru gave a slight bow and left the museum.

"I don't understand, dad, why are you so chummy with that curator? I mean, you don't really look like the history buff type…" Minoru asked as the two got into an Acura CDX parked in the museum's exterior parking lot.

"Oh, there's things about Mizorogi Daisuke you don't know about. For starters, he used to be a police officer when he was in his early twenties, and I happened to be his partner during his first few years on the shift until we both got promoted. He was the one who helped me arrest the Karasuma Street Slasher ten years ago, right before he finally retired."

"Woah, I did not know that. I always thought he was the nerd type."

"Nerd type? That man's a legend in the Kyoto Police! You really can't judge a book by its cover, you know? At least I now know why the smaller, harmless criminals always give you so much trouble…"

* * *

The museum has closed for the night, but Daisuke has yet to leave his office, sighing as he stared at a strange stone construct that was on his desk

On the outside, Daisuke was a folklorist, archaeologist and former police officer, but in reality, he was also an onmyōji, one of the last few true onmyōjis left in a world where technology and science have more or less made ancient magic and practices obsolete.

Ten years ago, Japan was rocked by several incidents involving the Roidmudes, rogue androids capable of creating a temporal field where time is slowed almost to a halt. During that time, a mysterious organization calling themselves Anathema began to make their presence felt, although thanks to the chaos that was happening at that time, Anathema was able to move through the shadows.

Daisuke, who had become a detective at that time, was assigned with his partner and parapsychologist, Ashiya Kazue, to investigate a series of murders thought to have been committed by the Roidmudes, but the two soon discovered that the killers were actually restless ghosts transformed into monsters by Anathema. that their reports would not be believed, the two agreed to conduct a personal investigation, and Kazue soon found a way to combat the monsters Anathema created, but was unfortunately exposed in the process and assassinated, causing Daisuke to resign from the force.

Kazue's final message to him contained several poems containing clues that had led him all over Japan for the next decade, resulting in his procurement of not only the stone object on his desk but also nine strange scrolls that Kazue had hidden, all of which was said to have belonged to a powerful onmyōji during the Heian Era. Daisuke had already sensed the powerful magical properties on the stone object itself, but the scrolls were strangely normal to him, yet he was unable to open any of them.

Whatever this stone object was, it was crucial in dealing with the monsters this Anathema group was creating, at least, that was what Kazue claimed. Daisuke did not doubt her, though, for if she had been wrong, Anathema would not have murdered her ten years ago. Surprisingly, Anathema went silent shortly after Kazue's death, and

As he pondered over what he was going to do next, Daisuke unconsciously turned to stare at a picture he had taken with Ashiya Kazue when Kotoe was seven years old, with Kotoe wearing a gi from her taekwondo class at that time. He shook his head, wondering how Kotoe ended up working at his museum, and if she ever knew of her mother's relationship with him…

* * *

Three office workers sat at different parts of the office as they furiously typed into their computers. By now, all their colleagues were already starting to leave, but for them, the project's reports had to be done by today.

"Damn that Matsuda, slaving us like this. At this point, we're going to need a lot of health insurance," one of them said as the last of their colleagues left the office, leaving the three of them.

"Yeah, I wish he actually do something useful for once, like do his own job."

"You know, I have been hearing some rumours about him and two others, you know?"

"What kind of rumours?"

"That our CFO, Fujisaka, he got Akitsugu killed. And that Matsuda and Operations Manager Ishii were involved."

"Don't be silly, Akitsugu died in an accident. They determined that the brakes failed."

"But what if the brakes were made to fail? Think about it. Akitsugu was supposed to be the new CFO but then he had an accident the day before, and by coincidence Fujisaka got the position, and then Matsuda, the laziest bastard in our department and one of his best friends, becomes our leader? I don't buy it."

"So, when did the rumours started?"

"Well, you noticed police detectives suddenly visiting Katsuba Corps on a daily basis? Apparently, the detectives that were looking through old case files noticed some discrepancies about the evidence that were submitted and now they've re-opened the case…"

"You know, now that you mentioned this, I did notice Matsuda acting all panicky in his office just now…"

The two workers turned to see a thirty-six-year-old man with unkempt short hair pacing about in a room separated from the rest of the office, speaking urgently on the phone.

"Yeah, never saw him like this before…"

"Hey, is it just me or did it suddenly get a lot colder?" the second worker said as he shuddered.

"Yeah, I'm feeling it too. Air-con's probably automatically lowered the temperature again. You know what, screw Matsuda. Let's just go already, I got a baseball match to catch."

The two workers quickly grabbed their belongings and walked out of the office. Once they were gone, the third office worker, a pale man with baggy eyes and a buzzcut, finally looked up. Silently, he got up and walked towards the room where the man named Matsuda was. Matsuda did not see the third worker enter the office, being too preoccupied with the conversation he had on the phone.

"No, Ishii, you need to understand! We need to come up with an alibi! Get someone to be with us on the day of the incident! What do you mean you don't care? You bastard, you know damn well we're going to be charged with murder if the truth comes out, right? No one would believe we did not mean to- Hello? Screw you, you bastard!"

Matsuda angrily slammed a fist on the table before collecting himself, unaware that the buzzcut worker was right behind him, raising a fist as he prepared to swing down upon him.

Instead, the buzzcut worker's arm simply went through Matsuda.

Matsuda shuddered as he felt a strange chill around his head and neck. Shaking his head, he grabbed his bag and left the office, completely unaware of the buzzcut worker's three other attempts to strike him.

"Why can't I hit him?" the buzzcut worker asked in frustration, his voice having an eerie echoing effect to it as he watched Matsuda enter the lift.

"That is because you are already dead. Ghosts cannot interact with the living unless they allow their emotions to reach their peak, such as extreme anger, for example."

The buzzcut worker turned to see another man in the office, leaning against the wall with his arms folded. He was quite buffed, sported a crew cut and wore a black and red leather two-piece suit with a large hood, though the length of the outer layer almost reaches the knees and there were belt straps on the sleeves.

"Who are you? How did you get in here, and how can you see me?"

"You may call me Kobara. For how I got in here, this building has very poor security. I mean, there's no alarm or cameras at the fire exit, and as for why I can see you, it is because I am someone who practice an art lost to time, an ancient art that requires one to be able to see the supernatural. And I am here to make you an offer."

"What kind of offer?"

"I work for a group called Anathema. We specialize in helping those of our kind who have died wrongful deaths redress the wrongs done upon you. You are Kimiya Akitsugu, died on 14 June 2018, 1930 hours at the age of 36, leaving behind one wife and one child. Official C.O.D. was a car accident, but you and I both know your brakes were tampered. Tell me, are you angry?"

"Of course, I am! I lost everything in a single night! All because somebody wanted my position!" the ghost, Akitsugu, replied.

"But clearly not angry enough, otherwise you would not have remained on Earth, tethered to it by unfinished business and unable to move on as a result. But I can help you. In my palm right now is a gift that would help you finish what business in the living world you have left so that you can move on. Here, catch."

The man calling himself Kobara flicked a coin towards Akitsugu, who was surprised by the fact that he was actually able to catch it. Upon closer inspection, the coin seemed to be oozing some kind of dark purple energy.

"Place that coin where your heart used to be, and you will be able to interact with the living world. But remember, do not leave it on for too long, or you will start to lose sight of yourself. You may need some time to get used to the physical body this coin grants you, but then again, don't you want to settle the score?"

"I do want to settle the score… But…"

Kobara suddenly leaned forward, his face just centimetres from Akitsugu's.

"Then, what are you waiting for?" he asked Akitsugu, saying each word in a deliberately slow manner.

Akitsugu stared at the coin, closed his eyes and placed it against his chest…

* * *

The empty carpark was not a sight that Matsuda Tohru wasn't used to, but tonight was different. As Matsuda walked through it, he could not help but feel that the carpark was trying to devour him with its emptiness.

"Damn it, Tohru, you're letting fear conquer your mind! Calm down!" Matsuda scolded himself as he finally reached his Audi RS Q3.

Tossing his bag into the back of the car, Matsuda was about to enter it himself when a barely audible but clear moan is heard echoing through the carpark, causing him to look up.

"Anybody there?" Matsuda asked out loud.

Silence.

Brushing it off as his imagination running wild, Matsuda was about to resume entering his car when the moan was heard again, this time louder than earlier.

"Damn you, whoever's trying to pull a prank, it's too fucking early for Halloween!" Matsuda shouted before finally getting into his car and driving out of the carpark.

The moment he exited the carpark, however, he heard something land on top of his vehicle. He looked up, but nothing else happened, and once again, Matsuda wrote it off as his fear of his role in Akitsugu's death being exposed clouding his mind.

As he entered the highway, Matsuda recalled the events leading to Akitsugu's death. Fujisaka had been furious about being passed over for promotion, with the younger Akitsugu being named as the successor of the vacant CFO position four years ago.

The plan they had was simple. Plant some alcohol in and meddle with the brakes of Akitsugu's aging Honda Accord to cause a minor accident that would impair Akitsugu's ability to rise any higher in the company and thus allowing Fujisaka, whom he, Ishii and Fujisaka himself thought was more deserving of a promotion, to claim the position of CFO. After all, who would want a person that commits drink-and-drive to take such an important position?

The horrific accident that occurred was not part of the plan. They never wanted Akitsugu to die, but now they have blood on his hands. The initial investigation had written the accident off as merely an accident (they never found the alcohols in the car as Akitsugu found them first and threw them away), but now things have changed.

One of the original investigators had to get bored waiting for a case and start looking through his old casefiles to spend his fucking time at the station. Matsuda did not know which one it was, but he cursed all of them anyways. The discovery of the sabotaged brakes which they missed initially was all but enough to re-open the case as a murder case, and now he, Ishii and Fujisaka were all under suspicion because one former employee from Katsuba Corps mentioned to the cops how they would often talk bad things about Akitsugu.

"Damn it all! Fucking Akitsugu! Even dead, he had to screw with us!" Matsuda screamed out in frustration.

The roof of his Audi suddenly exploded, and Matsuda felt something sharp and furry grab his face. He tried to scream, but whatever had grabbed him started pulling him up and down while he desperately tried to free himself, with the Audi swerving left and right.

"You did this to me!" a frightening voice roared at him, dripping with rage and sorrow.

A horrified Matsuda realized whose voice it was before the roof exploded again and he saw an arm reach through and grab him around the neck…

* * *

Kotoe yawned as she finally reached her studio apartment after ending her shift. The studio apartment was actually Daisuke's, but ever since he moved to a bigger house and did not want to rent it out, he had given it to Kotoe after the latter was forced to move out from the apartment that she and her mother used to live in.

"Woah, never expected such an enthusiastic batch of kids yesterday… Luckily today's my break day… So many chores, so little time…" she muttered.

After a quick shower and a microwave dinner, Kotoe began cleaning up her house. At one point, she started on the small altar she had placed at one corner of her apartment, which held a box that was said to contain her family's heirloom, but both her parents and grandparents, when they were still alive, had warned her never to open it until the time comes for her to "take up the family job". What family job they were talking about, she would never know, for each of them took the answer to the grave.

After the altar, Kotoe went for the shelves, where a number of trophies she won from her days of competitive taekwondo during high school were placed on, along with an Olympic Gold Medal from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. There was also a picture of Kotoe with her mother, which Kotoe picked up and stared at for a moment.

"Mom… All they returned to me were ashes…" Kotoe silently said as sadness began to form around her face before she quickly snapped out of her thoughts, finished cleaning up and retreating to her sofa bed.

"Wonder what's on the news," she commented to herself as she switched on the television.

No sooner had she done so when a loud screeching was heard, followed by some screams and ending with the entire building shaking as something smashed into it. Kotoe could hear some of her neighbours yelping or cursing, and when she stuck her head out the window, all she saw was a silver Audi crushed against the side of the building and an arm limply hanging out of the driver's side.

"Holy shit…" Kotoe muttered, unaware of a dark shadow silently swinging away from the scene.

As Kotoe turned around, she saw to her dismay that the shockwave caused by the impact had caused the small altar of hers to be dislodged, and the box containing her family's heirloom had fell off it, causing the lid to break off.

"Oh, no, no, no… How can this happen?" Kotoe moaned as she went to pick up the box.

As Kotoe picked the box up, she was surprised to find a single well-preserved scroll the size of her palm inside which was coloured red and orange. Curious, she opened the scroll to inspect it, finding an old ink painting of a fox inside along with an inscription that she can barely make out.

"Interesting," Kotoe muttered when a knocking on the door was heard.

"Kotoe-san? Everything okay in there? That car slammed into the building pretty hard."

Kotoe answered the door, opening it to reveal a woman in her thirties with shoulder-length hair and a gentle expression.

"Ah, Mrs Kimiya! Everything's all right. What about your side? Did that car disturb Kenji's nap, did I?"

"Kenji's sound asleep, so don't you worry too much. Still, I can't help but worry about how a nice young lady like you have to live alone, even though the police headquarters is just one street down," Kimiya Sachiko, the next-door neighbour of Kotoe, replied.

"Oh, don't you worry, Mrs Kimiya! I can take care of myself."

"Well, you clearly can. I don't mean to intrude."

"Say, when did you say you are moving to Izumo, Mrs Kimiya?"

"By this Saturday, I'm afraid. Everything's so rushed I did not even have time to give you and the other neighbours a proper goodbye."

"Aw, that's a shame… Hey, I know! The Kōyu Museum is celebrating its tenth anniversary and I got some free tickets from Mr Mizorogi to give out. Why not you and Kenji go? It's on the day before you move, and I can spend the time with you both, have one last dinner together. I mean, you practically helped take care of me for the last ten years after my mom, well…"

"I know how it feels to lose a loved one, Kotoe. And thanks for the offer. Kenji and I will go."

"Okay, Mrs Kimiya. See you then," Kotoe replied as Mrs Kimiya returned to her own apartment.

* * *

"Man, I hate weekend duties… Could be back home with my freakin' PS5…" Minoru muttered with a yawn as he sat at the desk of his kōban, leaning backwards in a lazy manner when his partner, a bespectacled cop in his thirties, returned from bike patrol.

"Wow, early in the morning and you're already close to napping, eh, Hasai?"

"Yeah, whatever, Nakamura. Been waiting for my turn for quite some time, you know? So, any nice news on the victim of that crash last night, the one at the studio apartment building so near to our headquarters?" Minoru asked.

Nakamura sighed as he placed a newspaper on the desk.

"Victim's a big shot in the business world. Matsuda Tohru, Chief Data Analyst of Katsuba Corps. Spine completely broken. Made the front page"

Minoru grimaced upon hearing that.

"Heads are gonna roll, man…"

"Well, I heard some strange rumours. They said the Audi he was driving had holes in the roof, and his facial injuries looked like someone clawed him up. They even detected gunpowder all over the car, but no signs of firearms or bullets. Not to mention that the officers assigned to guard him at the hospital said he kept repeating the name Akitsugu the whole night."

"Akitsugu? Hey, that name rings a bell. Kimiya Akitsugu, right? They're re-investigating his death, I heard."

"Yeah, 'cause one of the accident specialists was going through his old files and noticed something he did not see during his initial investigation. Tampered brakes, I heard. From what I know, Matsuda was one of the prime suspects."

"How can they take four years to notice that? Ah, whatever, it's out of our jurisdiction anyways. Well, guess it's my turn to patrol."

"Hey, you're going to the tenth anniversary of the Kōyu Museum of International Culture and Folklore, right?"

"Yeah, and unfortunately with my dear old dad. I rather be doing guard duty than wear a bloody three-piece suit and tie."

"Unlucky you. I get to have the whole kōban for myself," Nakamura commented as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

* * *

Ishii Daichi, the 35-year-old Operations Manager of Katsuba Corps, was a nervous wreck as he kept washing his face in the toilet of the building, his hair in such a mess that it looked more like a mop.

The attack on Matsuda last night has caused the rumours floating around Katsuba Corps to spike up, and now even the CEO was getting suspicious about Akitsugu's death. Even worse, Matsuda's mental state after the attack had caused him to unintentionally blurt out things that should not have been said, and the 'accident' they got Akitsugu into was becoming less like an accident and more like a murder.

Now he was alone on the tenth storey of the office building, fearful of going home for the night in case he gets attacked while driving. Perhaps if he took the public transport like he did this morning, the chances of an attack on him might be lessened, but then he still had to walk a certain distance.

"It was just a minor tampering of the brakes… How could we know that it would send Akitsugu off the road and kill him? Bloody hell, and I was telling Matsuda off about his paranoia! I should have listened to him!" Ishii exclaimed out loud to himself in frustration.

The lights in the toilet began flickering, causing Ishii to look around in fright, unaware that right behind him, though only seen in the mirror, was the ghost of Akitsugu. However, unlike his initial pale appearance, black veins could be seen on his skin as he held the coin given to him by Kobara in his fingers before placing it on his chest.

As Ishii finally looked back at the mirror, he saw nothing else but himself, but as she began to calm down, a clawed hand suddenly grabbed him from behind and forced him to turn around.

Ishii barely had time to scream at the sight before him when the same clawed hand grabbed him around the mouth, stifling his voice before pulling him forward and slamming his head into the mirror violently…

* * *

"I'm going to be late!" Kotoe moaned as she sped down the road towards the Kōyu Museum of International Culture and Folklore on her Kawasaki KLR650, with the scrolls in her bag as she wanted to show them to Daisuke in hopes of figuring out what they meant and why they were supposedly her family's heirlooms.

After fifteen minutes, Kotoe finally arrived at the museum, which was now prepped and ready for the mayor as the celebration of the tenth anniversary began.

"Kotoe, you're here!"

"Tobias!" Kotoe greeted as she got off her bike and approached a 25-year-old man with a short taper-cut wearing a grey jacket over a green polo-t manning the sound systems.

Tobias Chen moved to Japan from Singapore when he was sixteen, but due to certain laws regarding foreigners living in Japan, had a lot of difficulty finding a job after graduating from university despite having obtained citizenship. However, due to his high scores in both history and archaeology, he was scouted by Daisuke who invited him to be his assistant at the museum. It was hard to believe that he went from personal assistant to assistant curator within that five years, even proving himself to be more knowledgeable about Japan's history than local experts.

"Hey, heard about that accident that occurred at your apartment. Everything okay?"

"Oh, it's fine. Say, where's the boss? I want to ask him for something."

"Pay rise?"

"Nah, I found this strange scroll in my family heirloom box that got damaged due to the accident causing the building to shake which in turn knocked the box open."

"Oh, that's interesting…" Tobias commented as Kotoe showed him the scroll in her bag.

"I mean, it's supposed to be ancient, but it's so well-preserved that they look like plastic toys, huh? And there was this ancient painting of a kitsune inside."

"Sounds like a pretty normal painting in a scroll, with the only abnormal part being how well it's preserved just as you said. As for Daisuke, well, he's talking to the mayor at the moment. A lot of big shots here. Police Chief Hirai, the actor Wakamatsu Uchio, then there's the president of Kyoto University. Katsuba Corps also sent a few guests, since their CEO made investments in the museum…"

Tobias stopped talking when two police officers on duty at the event walked past them, engaged in conversation.

"Can't believe the next suspect is now in the hospital too."

"Yeah, Operations Manager Ishii. Got smashed so many times against the mirror that the doctors say he's permanently scarred. He was supposed to be here with the president of Katsuba Corps, Katsuba Toshinobu. Now the CFO and the last suspect, Fujisaka Masaharu, is taking his place."

"Any suspects who may have attacked our initial suspects?"

"So far no, but like Matsuda, Ishii keep repeating the name of Kimiya Akitsugu."

"Damn, that's creepy. But you saw how nervous Fujisaka looked when we walked past him?"

"Tell-tale signs of guilt, but we're street cops. Leave the thinking to the detectives…"

"Heard that?" Tobias asked Kotoe as the two cops left.

"Yeah…"

"The first guy, Matsuda, he was the one that crashed into your building. Strange, you know, that both men were suspected of being involved in the death of one Kimiya Akitsugu four years ago."

"Kimiya Akitsugu? That's the name of my neighbour's dead husband."

"Now that's really creepy…"

"Kotoe?"

"Miss Kimiya, you made it!" Kotoe cheerfully greeted her neighbour, who was with her five-year-old son Kenji, as the latter emerged from a cab.

"Well, I did promise to have one last meal with you before I move out of the prefecture, right? Besides, you personally invited me to this event, so how can I refuse?"

"And how have you been, Kenji?"

"I've been well. Thank you for inviting my and mom, Kotoe-neechan," Kenji replied.

"There's still a couple of hours before the event begins. You've never been in the museum before, right? I'll give you both a personal tour."

"Oh, that's kind of you…"

"Er, what about the scroll you were talking about?" Tobias asked, but Kotoe was happily taking Miss Kimiya and Kenji into the museum already.

Shrugging, Tobias went back to finishing up the set-up of the audio system, but then he felt a cold chill behind him as something seemed to drift past. Turning around, Tobias saw nothing but the crowd that were gathering, and dismissed what he had felt as a sudden bout of imagination…

* * *

"Well, well, well, I don't recall giving you permission to conduct personal tours, Miss Ashiya," Daisuke said as he approached Kotoe, Miss Kimiya and Kenji, just as Kotoe was showing them a stone plaque which displayed a number of Celtic runes.

"C'mon, Mr Mizorogi, you know Miss Kimiya, right? She used to be your neighbour until you gave me your studio apartment. She and her kid are leaving town soon, I just wanted to make their last day in Kyoto a good one," Kotoe protested.

Daisuke laughed.

"Just pulling your leg, dummy! Still, you could have at least told me about it so I can prepare something special for them. They were my longest neighbours when I was still at that apartment. For now, though, all I can offer are these free coupons for the cafeteria," he replied as he pulled out six coupons from his pocket.

"Oh, I can't just accept that! It won't be fair for you, Daisuke."

"Hey, we were neighbours, remember? Besides, I owe you for not visiting for the last four years…"

"Well, you did come to Akitsugu's funeral, so I think that makes up for it."

Daisuke sighed.

"Akitsugu was a good friend and a great man… Even now, I still can't believe he had to go like that."

"I know, Daisuke, I know…" Miss Kimiya said as a sad look spreads across her face.

"Boss man, the audio systems have been completely set up," Tobias said as he approached the group.

"Oh, thanks a lot, Tobias. You ought to go for a break, though, you've been working non-stop since four in the morning…"

"I sure would. I am hungry. Oh, Kotoe, didn't you want to show Mr Mizorogi something?"

"Show me what?" Daisuke asked as Kotoe took the scroll out of her bag.

"Mr Mizorogi, I found this inside a box that was supposed to be my family heirloom…"

Daisuke's eyes widened at the sight of the scroll Kotoe was holding.

"Kotoe, I need to speak with you privately. Tobias, could you help take care of Miss Kimiya and her son? I'll be grateful for it…"

* * *

"Okay. Come now, you both must be hungry and it's way past lunch time," Tobias said to Miss Kimiya and Kenji as he guided them to the cafeteria while Kotoe followed Daisuke to his office, wondering what had gotten into the curator.

Fujisaka Masaharu was the type of person who often throws his weight around and mixes with the rich and powerful just to make others take note of how powerful he was, so seeing him behaving like a rabbit in the public was an unusual sight, though no one really took note of him as he stood behind the rest of his colleagues and CEO from Katsuba Corps.

For someone with a slimy reputation, he actually looks more like a member of a Korean boy band despite being in his early forties. At the moment, however, he was getting more and more unnerved by the number of police officers attending the event as guards. Furthermore, the chief of Kyoto's police, Hirai Sousuke, was present along with his son, also a cop. And right now, he was actually the chief suspect in the reopening of Kimiya Akitsugu's case, now that the official cause of death of his former rival had been changed from "car accident" to "possible first-degree murder".

Fujisaka hated Akitsugu. The younger man had outperformed him on many occasions when he was alive, and when he was passed over for the role of CFO because of it, Fujisaka exploded, and it was then he began plotting to sabotage his rival.

It was Matsuda and Ishii who suggested that they cause an accident and make it look like Akitsugu had been drink-driving, but while they helped him meddle with Akitsugu's car, the two only planned to make it skid a bit, thus causing a minor accident at most.

Both were unaware that Fujisaka, who had experience working with cars during his youth as a car mechanic, had later returned to completely destroy the brake systems of Akitsugu's car. Fujisaka didn't want Akitsugu to be in a hospital: He wanted him dead.

It was impossible for Akitsugu to have survived that accident he caused, unless Akitsugu had the power to regrow his crushed chest and survive a metal rod through the head. But now, both Matsuda and Ishii are in the hospital, badly injured and frightened to the brink of insanity, mentioning Akitsugu's name over and over again. Fujisaka knew that he was next, and he was now wondering if Akitsugu had returned from the dead to get his revenge.

"Hey, Fujisaka, why're you spacing out like that?"

Fujisaka was snapped out of his thoughts by a colleague.

"Sorry, I was distracted by the artworks on display…" Fujisaka said quickly as he gestured at a series of paintings in front of them.

"Yeah, they're nice, huh? Apparently, they're made by a famous painter in ancient China. They're actually an entire set together, telling the story of how a young monk helped the ghost of a murdered man get justice."

"Oh, that's… Well, impressive," Fujisaka replied while glancing away, trying to hide his growing fear while mentally cursing his luck.

As Fujisaka turned to walk away, he froze in his tracks at a strange individual in front of him. He was familiar, but his skin was pale, his eyes yellowish and black veins could be seen around his face, neck and other exposed skin.

As the individual pointed an accusing finger at him, Fujisaka, overcome by fear, blurted out a name that caused everyone to turn around and stare.

"Akitsugu?"

* * *

"What is all this?" Kotoe asked in shock.

Kotoe had been wondering why the scroll she had caused Daisuke to become excited, but once she entered his office and the door was locked behind them, the curator lifted the cloth off one of his desk, revealing the belt-like stone tablet and nine other scrolls similar to the one Kotoe was holding in her hands, each of them having a different colour

"A mystery left to me by your mother, Kazue… You remember what I told you, right?" Daisuke said to her.

"Yes, that you and mom were investigating some kind of crime and that involved necromancy or something like that, and that monsters were involved."

"The Darkened. That's what Kazue called them. Lost souls transformed into monsters by dark magic. Your mother found a way to combat those monsters, but then the ones responsible for creating the monsters got to her first. She managed to send me the counter plans before she passed, and I've spent the last ten years gathering everything that she listed out in her final message."

"You mean, all these were based on Mom's last message to you?"

"Yes… I'm sorry to be bringing her up even now. I mean, I…"

"It's all right, I'm not that bratty kid that loses her temper whenever Mom is mentioned anymore."

"But it still hurts, does it?"

Kotoe silently nodded. Daisuke sighed.

"It seems everyone that I am close to suffers for something they did not deserve at all… Either way, I have not been able to solve the final riddle Kazue gave. I have no idea what this belt-like stone object is meant for, but…"

Daisuke is interrupted by a scream that came from outside.

"What is going on?" he asked as Kotoe opened the door.

Immediately, Kotoe felt something flew past her face before a stinging sensation was felt against her left cheek, causing her to yelp in surprise and fall backwards. Daisuke rushed over to check on her as a table suddenly flew past the open door.

"Kotoe, you all right?"

"I think so… What just happened?" Kotoe asked as she felt a cut on her left cheek.

"Stay here, I'm going to check it out. I'll tell you when it's safe to come out," Daisuke said as he left the office while more screams were heard.

Still in shock over what just happened, Kotoe unconsciously made her way to Daisuke's desk and sat down. The cut was not really deep, but quite a bit of blood was seeping out, and as Kotoe reached for a tissue to wipe the blood off her cheek, some of it dripped onto the stone object on Daisuke's desk.

Immediately, the stone object gave out a flash of light, causing Kotoe to shriek as she fell backwards for the second time, and when she looked up, the stone object was no longer a stone object, but some kind of belt with leather straps that had five strange holsters on both left and right strap each. The bronze buckle itself was quite big, and looked like a mix between ancient artwork and modern technology.

The strangest thing, however, was the puppet-like being that was now floating on top of the formerly stone object.

"AH! After so many years of rest, I, Ashiya Dōman, hast finally awakened! Has one of my descendants' blood been spilled atop the Yōkai Belt?"

"A-A-Ashiya Dōman?" Kotoe stammered out.

"Oh, girl, could it be that you are of my bloodline?" the puppet thing asked as it turned towards the floating belt.

"What has befallen it? What monstrosity has the Yōkai Belt transformed into? Wait, perhaps the changing of time has caused it to adapt to a newer form to fit in with the current era? Girl, what year is it?" the puppet demanded at the sight of the belt.

"2023, 5th year of Reiwa…"

"WHAT? It's almost close to a thousand years since I sealed my soul within the Belt with Seimei's help! How long had I been sleeping? Yet, what be that racket outside this room?"

"I have no idea, and why did you mention Seimei like he's your friend? If you really are Ashiya Dōman, aren't you enemies with him?" Kotoe asked, now that she had gotten her senses back.

"Enemies? Who made such a scandalous claim that we were enemies? Could it be that accursed Hiromasa spreading rumours after I left my corporeal form? But it doesn't matter. I sense a strange energy, a familiar energy… An onryō! Boosted by foul magic, no less! A lost soul that has used a coin drenched in the foul blood of Shuten-Doji to transform into a monster!"

"Wait, why do you look like a Muppet?"

"What in the name of Izanami is a Muppet? Never mind, we must make haste, for everyone is in danger! Take the Belt and the scrolls, we must stand against this threat!"

"What threat?"

The puppet claiming to be Ashiya Dōman did not say anything, instead using some kind of magic to levitate the belt and the scrolls into Kotoe's hands before somehow blasting the door down with a single thrust of his tiny palms. Kotoe, who quickly discovered that the holsters around the belt was for the scrolls, quickly followed, not even knowing why she was listening to this puppet man, but then she remembered that Miss Kimiya and Kenji were at the cafeteria with Tobias.

"Cafeteria!" Kotoe shouted at the puppet man, who turned and followed her towards the cafeteria where the main source of the chaos was.

"Kotoe! Get back! It's dangerous!"

"Tobias! You're hurt!" Kotoe called to her colleague who was in the corridor, bleeding badly from his head as he shielded Miss Kimiya and Kenji behind him from whatever was inside the cafeteria.

"That thing inside! It… It was some kind of ghost! It called out to your neighbour… She said it was her late husband!"

"What?"

"It was Akitsugu… Is this for real? How? What has become of my husband?" Miss Kimiya asked as she clutched Kenji close to her.

The door suddenly burst open as two cops and a security guard are thrown against it, sprawling all over the floor. Kotoe is horrified as she recognized the ghost that Tobias was talking about. After all, she had seen him a few times in the pictures Miss Kimiya placed around her apartment.

"You're… You're Kimiya Akitsugu…" Kotoe whispered.

The ghost of Kimiya Akitsugu ignored her, instead staring at the man he was throttling with eyes filled with unbridled rage and hatred as the two levitated off the floor.

"I won't let you die so easily, Fujisaka… You will suffer ten times before I end your misery!"

With that, Akitsugu swooped past Kotoe and the others, making his way to the entrance, just as Daisuke emerged from the cafeteria with a heavy nosebleed.

"Well, that was a pathetic attempt at exorcism… Y'all all right?"

"Yeah, we are, but Miss Kimiya…"

"I'll be fine, I think… I… I... don't know what is happening," Miss Kimiya replied as a tear streaked down her cheeks.

"Miss Kimiya, we're getting you out of here, now," Daisuke said as he went over to help her up.

"But my husband… Why?"

"It appears your husband died a wrongful death, which is why he is so filled with rage. No doubt the man he was attacking had something to do with his death, but if your husband is not exorcised in time, he'll become an evil spirit and be forever not at peace."

"Not now, self-proclaimed Dōman," Kotoe hissed, but then she realized that everyone was staring at Dōman.

"Kotoe, what the hell is that thing?" Daisuke asked.

"Oh, that's, er, Ashiya Dōman. And your stone object, well, it transformed into this when my blood dripped on it. It was an accident, I swear!"

"A Rider Driver? That stone object was a Rider Driver all this time?"

"What the hell is a Rider Driver?" Tobias asked.

"For years, Japan has been threatened by terrorists and monsters of all kinds, but each time such a threat surfaces, a mysterious hero would show up and defeat them. These heroes came to be known collectively as the Kamen Riders, and the belts they use to transform are referred to as Drivers, no matter the origins," Daisuke explained.

"Okay, but how about we figure out what to do next with that mad ghost dragging Fujisaka Masaharu, the CFO of Katsuba Corps, all the way to the entrance of the museum? The mayor's right freakin' there!" Tobias said, causing the others to realize the danger.

"Miss Kimiya, maybe you should stay in my office until this blows over…"

"I need to be there. Please," Miss Kimiya replied.

"No. I cannot submit both you and Kenji to such a spectacle. Stay in my office until this is over."

After convincing Miss Kimiya to hide in Daisuke's office with Kenji, everyone else rushed to the entrance where Akitsugu was parading the one called Fujisaka Masaharu around, with several people fleeing or hiding in terror. The mayor, shielded by his bodyguards, was hiding near the entrance while Chief Hirai and his son were at another corner with several police officers and security guards, all of them with their firearms drawn.

"Go ahead, Fujisaka. Say it," Akitsugu asked with a hiss as he lifted Fujisaka by his neck.

"I… Did… Not…"

"C'mon, now, you and I both know the truth. Besides, I'm already dead, so I have nothing else to lose. But you, you got a lot to lose. Perhaps I should leave you alive, and start with your wife…"

"Okay, if that really is the ghost of Kimiya Akitsugu, how is a ghost able to strangle a full-grown man in broad daylight?" Kotoe asked.

"He's become an onryō. The power of rage and hatred hath grown so much within him that he now hath free reign over what he can touch in the world of the living," Dōman replied.

"SAY IT!" Akitsugu suddenly shouted as he tightened his grip on Fujisaka's neck.

"Okay! Okay! I DID IT! I destroyed the braking systems on your car! I was the one who should have been promoted, but instead, they gave it to a dog like you! Matsuda and Ishii only wanted to cause a minor accident, but I wanted you DEAD!" Fujisaka croaked out loud enough for everyone to hear.

Akitsugu sneered and threw Fujisaka to the ground.

"I'm a dog? Interesting coincidence…" Akitsugu said as he levitated into the air and took out a coin.

"That be the coin I was talking about! A Yami no Dōsen!" Dōman exclaimed.

"A DarKoin…" Daisuke whispered in horror.

"What's this about the coin?" Kotoe asked, but then she sees Akitsugu plunge the coin into his ghostly chest.

Dark energy enveloped the ghost of Akitsugu as he screamed in pain, but then evil laughter is heard as the dark energy begins to dispel.

**{{Darkening! (evil laughter) Behold, HOUNDEYES!}}**

Kotoe and the others could not believe their eyes as the dark energy completely disappeared and a six-foot-six humanoid resembling a canine landed in front of Fujisaka. The head was like a pit-bull, and on each shoulder were two other dog heads, one resembling a bulldog and the other a Doberman, each of them with large round eyes. Its skin was metallic, the fur was black and brown in colour, the claws as long as knives and it wore what looked like ragged pants around its lower torso, with a hole for the tail to come out of.

"What are you?! What the bloody hell are you?!" Fujisaka asked in horror as the now-transformed Akitsugu advanced upon him.

"I was Kimiya Akitsugu, but you may now call me… Houndeyes…"

"Oh no, he's becomed a Darkened… This just gets worse and worse!" Daisuke moaned.

"That's the Darkened thingy you were telling me about?" Kotoe asked.

A sudden scream caused everyone to turn around.

"Miss Kimiya! What are you doing out here?" Kotoe asked as her neighbour, with her son in tow, stood behind them.

"No… My husband… He's become a monster…"

Akitsugu, or the Houndeyes Darkened as he was now, shrugged off bullets fired at him by the police and armed security, the eyes of the dog heads that serve as his shoulders firing off energy blasts that sends his attackers flying upon impact.

"No! Akitsugu! Stop! This isn't you!" Miss Kimiya shouted as she ran past Kotoe and the others, pushing Kenji into Tobias' arms to keep her son safe.

"No! Miss Kimiya! It's too dangerous!" Daisuke yelled, but then Tobias screamed out something in Chinese and dived to one side, using his own body to shield Kenji.

One of Houndeyes's energy blasts had misfired and struck the ground in front of Kotoe and Daisuke. Daisuke was thrown to Tobias' side while Kotoe went flying back into the museum.

"Girl, hast thou been injured?" Dōman asked as he quickly floated towards Kotoe's side.

"Argh! My head, it hurts!" Kotoe screamed in anger as she held her hand against a new wound on her head.

"A painful scratch, but just a scratch nevertheless. Thou shall be fine."

From where she stood, Kotoe could see and hear Miss Kimiya begging for the Darkened to listen to her.

"Please, Akitsugu! If that is really you, please stop this madness right now! Your son, you son is watching all of this!"

"Leave me be, woman! I will not be able to rest until I have had my revenge!"

"Akitsugu! When you were still with us, you were a kind, loving man. This isn't you!"

"This is what they turned me into! Now leave me be, Sachiko, lest you want to end up like them!"

Houndeyes suddenly paused and began clutching his head.

"Sachiko… Sachiko? No, wait…"

"Akitsugu?"

"Hey, boss, what's happening to that dog man?" Tobias asked as he got behind a pillar, still holding a frightened Kenji in his hands.

"His wife's name is triggering his memories of the time he spent with her when he was still alive. The positive emotions are now clashing against the negative emotions that feeds the dark energy empowers him," Daisuke explained as he crawled towards Tobias.

Houndeyes suddenly lets out a roar of frustration as Kotoe emerged from the door with Dōman following her from behind.

"Miss Kimiya!" Kotoe exclaimed out loud as she saw her neighbour trying to reason with the transformed ghost of her husband.

"No! No! NO!" Houndeyes roared and fires an energy blast at his former wife at point-blank range.

"Miss Kimiya! NO!" Kotoe screamed.

It was at this moment a miracle happened.

A red and orange phantom fox, the size of a car and possessing four tails, suddenly burst forth from nowhere and shielded Miss Kimiya from the attack, its body seemingly burning with blue flames as it stood protectively in front of Kotoe's neighbour.

"What on Earth is that?" Chief Hirai asked from behind the makeshift barricade he and some police officers have taken cover at.

"Dad, is that a kitsune or something?" Minoru asked as well.

Meanwhile, back at the entrance of the Koyū Museum of International Culture and Folklore, Kotoe was surprised by what she just witnessed.

"You had summoned the Kitsune from the MonScroll… To be able to perform such a feat means you are genuinely my descendant and successor," Dōman exclaimed.

Kotoe looked down to realize that during the entire confusion, she had somehow been holding on to the stone-object-turned-belt from Daisuke's office as well as the scroll she had found in the box that was her family heirloom. Right now, the scroll was gripped tight in her hand, and it was glowing.

"What, what did I do?" Kotoe asked.

"It matters not. You are worthy of the Belt, or whatever you wish to call it now. What be your name, girl?"

"A-Ashiya Kotoe."

"Ashiya Kotoe, I apologize for the suddenness of this situation, but as of this instant, you shall become the warrior known as Irei," Dōman said excitedly as he suddenly took the belt from Kotoe and slapped it around her waist.

"Wait, so what do I do? And why am I doing it?"

"Because you are the only one that can save the soul of the man once known as Kimiya Akitsugu. Tell me, Kotoe, can you fight?"

"I, er… I was a Taekwondo practitioner…"

"Never heard of that before, yet it sounds dangerous and I like it. Draw a line before you with the MonScroll and raise it into the air to create a barrier around you. Once that is done, insert the MonScroll into the hole on top of the belt's buckle and pull out the lever on the left. The Kitsune shall become your armour."

Before she can stop herself, Kotoe had already done what Dōman told her to do, and she can feel the MonScroll unrolling itself within the belt's buckle as she pulled the lever on the left of it.

**{{Scroll Reader: Kitsune!}}**

It was not the cheery male computerized voice coming out from a supposedly ancient belt that shocked Kotoe, but the barrier of flames that suddenly erupted around her while the phantom fox took leave of Miss Kimiya and rushed towards Kotoe.

"What? Wait! Wait! I don't know anything!" Kotoe shrieked in horror.

However, the fox suddenly split into pieces, each piece transforming into some sort of armour while black tendrils emerged from the belt and wrapped around Kotoe before the barrier of flames closed in and engulfed her, each armour piece attaching themselves to her in the process. A glowing symbol of the Seimei Star then appeared above Kotoe before descending upon her like some sort of scanning device, solidifying the armour pieces into physical form.

**{{Rising Up! Dance to the blazing heat! REKKA FOX!}}**

The flames dispersed, with Daisuke and Tobias watching the entire spectacle, their jaws opened. Standing in Kotoe's place was an armoured warrior in a black suit with orange and white armour pieces around her along with a red hakama-like cloth around her waist all the way to her knees.

Not only that, attached to the armour pieces of her shins and feet were greave-like weapons that releases a spurt of blue flames every few seconds.

The warrior turned towards a nearby mirror, touched her helmet and screamed at her own reflection.

"WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?" a familiar voice is heard.

"That's Kotoe?" Tobias asked in shock.

"She's turned into… She's turned into a Kamen Rider!" Daisuke replied.

As Kotoe stared at her transformed state, trying to process everything within her mind, Miss Kimiya's scream is heard. Looking up, Kotoe saw Houndeyes again trying to kill the man called Fujisaka and when Miss Kimiya once again tried to stop him, he turned around and looked like he was preparing to slash her throat open.

Immediately, Kotoe made to run towards them, but then she felt herself sailing through the air after taking her first step.

"Woah, wait, am I flying? No, wait, I'm not flying, I only took a leap… I CAN JUMP THIS FAR?!" Kotoe shrieked again as she realized that she had just cleared the distance between the entrance of the museum and the flag post, which was about 20 metres apart.

Houndeyes saw her coming and hesitated, and Kotoe's fighting instincts, the ones that she had unconsciously locked away after leaving competitive taekwondo, was unleashed in that very moment, delivering a powerful spinning roundhouse kick at Houndeyes's head as she descended.

Houndeyes was sent flying a good distance by the kick while Kotoe landed in front of Miss Kimiya.

"Miss Kimiya, are you all right?"

"I'm fine… But, Kotoe? Is that you?"

"Yeah, not sure what happened myself, but you need to get back to Kenji. I think Tobias is tired of holding him."

"But my husband…"

"I'll deal with him. Trust me."

As Miss Kimiya nodded and made her way back to the museum's entrance where the others are with her son, Kotoe turned to face Houndeyes, who had gotten back on his feet.

"_Remember, those Kitsuneates attached to your legs are devastating weapons that enhances your kicks to superhuman levels, so use them well,_" Dōman's voice is heard.

"Dōman? Where are you?" Kotoe asked.

"_When you transformed, part of the process involves me re-entering the Yōkai Belt, or rather the Yōkai Driver if you wish to call it by that name, so you are therefore wearing me around thy waist._"

"Er… Okay, but back to business. Hey, y-y-you're Mr Kimiya. W-w-we haven't met, but your wife was a g-g-good neighbour of mine, and I d-d-don't appreciate you trying to off her like that," Kotoe said nervously.

"My wife? She was a stupid woman who has no idea what I have to go through!"

"E-E-Excuse me?"

"My revenge would have left them satisfied! Why did she try to stop me from killing the man who was responsible for my death, who left her living a wretched life for the past few years?"

"You can't be serious… Have you no idea what you're doing to her with your actions?"

"I am doing this for both her and my son's sake!"

"But if you do that, you'll never be the same man Miss Kimiya knew, loved and married! You want her last memories of you to be that of an insane dead man bent on murder?"

"If that's the case, then the man she loved is dead!" the Darkened retorted.

Upon hearing Houndeyes's words, anger suddenly surged within Kotoe as blue flames exploded around her armour.

"What did you just say?" she asked, her voice suddenly becoming cold and soft.

"Huh?"

"Miss Kimiya suffered all those years after your death, doing her best to keep your memory untarnished, and the first thing you do is attack her because she got in the way of stopping you from becoming a monster? And all you can say to her is that the husband she loved with all her heart is dead? The power you obtained, it has clouded your mind, corrupted you…"

Houndeyes took a step back as the blue flames around Kotoe grew in size as her rage intensifies.

"What are you?" he demanded.

"Irei! I am Kamen Rider Irei, the light that brings salvation to the souls lost in darkness! Remember it!"

With that, the newly self-named Kamen Rider launches herself at the Darkened using the flames from her elbow guards like a booster, delivering a nasty kick to his face which knocked him off balanced.

"_An excellent introduction of yourself! That foul onryō would surely remember whom you are,_" Dōman praised Kotoe, or rather, Kamen Rider Irei.

"I'll blast you to bits!" Houndeyes roared as what looked like dust began forming around his hands before he swung at Irei, who dodged, causing the attack to hit the ground instead. Immediately, the area the Darkened has struck exploded, leaving behind a small crater.

"Dōman, what's with his claws?" Irei asked.

"_It would seem that this onryō, or Darkened as your friend referred to them as such, is capable of collecting dust around his hands to create miniature explosions when striking someone or something. Do well to keep clear of those claws,_" Dōman warned.

Houndeyes swiped at Irei a few times, missing each attack before Irei managed to grab his arm and performing a shoulder throw, causing Houndeyes to knock against a car. This also caused his unique dust explosion attack to backfire, blowing the car up and badly burning himself. Undeterred, Houndeyes began firing laser bolts from the eyes of all three of his dog heads.

"Er, what do I do now?" Irei asked as she dodged the bolts.

"_You currently have to power to create and manipulate all types of fire and heat. Use your imagination, the element is free for you to shape as you will._"

As Irei dodged another bolt, an image of football players juggling balls during training crossed her mind. Immediately, a ball of blue flames manifested itself at her feet, and without knowing what to do, Irei simply kicked the fireball at Houndeyes, smacking him hard in the chest.

"Hey, that'll work…"

Creating five more fireballs with a mix of normal flames and blue flames, Irei began kicking them one after another at the Darkened as the latter fired more energy bolts at her. The first four fireballs were used to deflect the energy bolts, but the fifth one was special, as Irei had juggled it a bit to increase its size before kicking it hard at the Darkened. Upon impact, Houndeyes' head snapped back and his body did a somersault in the air before landing on the ground.

As Irei continued her assault on Houndeyes, Daisuke and Tobias had managed to get Miss Kimiya safely behind cover and were now watching the fight from their vantage point.

"I know Kotoe's past successes in taekwondo, but I never thought I would be seeing it myself live for the first time," Daisuke commented.

"Well, if this was a television show, battle music is required," Tobias said as he pulled a cable attached to his laptop on a trolley towards him.

"Seriously?" Daisuke asked.

Tobias shrugged as he finally reunited with his laptop, still attached to the entire P.A. system, and selected one song in his archives of illegally downloaded music.

**[[Insert Song: Dive (0:00 – 1:23) by Man With A Mission]]**

"Aargh!" Houndeyes screamed as he tumbled across the ground from one of Irei's roundhouses.

Irei performed a dust-off gesture on her hakama before raising her right arm up with the palm facing upwards while the other arm hung by her side before making a proclamation.

"_Saa, kono ranbu no owari o hajimemashou!_ (Now, let's begin the end of this wild dance!)"

As Houndeyes launched more energy bolts at her, Irei dashed forward, showing off enhanced agility and reflexes as she dodged each and every one of the energy bolts with style, including a baseball slide and a cartwheel until she reached Houndeyes, at which point she unleashed a series of different kicks on the Darkened, each kick causing a burst of flames that further damaged him before Irei ended off with a back-flip kick that sends Houndeyes flying towards the far end of the street, leaving a trail of destruction during his unintended flight.

"I'm not finished!" Houndeyes declared as he stood up, only to take a surprise heel drop from Irei that smacked him face-first back to the ground.

As Houndeyes got up to his feet in a groggy manner, Irei was about to move in when Dōman stopped her.

"_Wait, Kotoe! The Darkened is weakened. Now is the time to perform the final and most powerful attack on him: The Dive._"

"Oh, how do I do that?"

"_Concentrate your focus to your Kitsuneates, your main weapon in this form, and majority of the energy of the Kitsune that now protects you will flow into them. Once they are ready, you can unleash a final attack on him to exorcise the darkness that turned him into that thing. That will also return the ghost back to his original state,_" Dōman explained.

"Well, I don't have time to train anyways… Field test!"

Following Dōman's instructions, Irei jumped a good distance away from Houndeyes and began focusing on her greave weapons, and true enough, she could feel both greaves starting to heat up as flames began forming around her legs.

"_Just a bit more…_" Dōman urged as Houndeyes came charging towards Irei.

**{{Commencing Dive: Kitsune! REKKA RYŪSEI!}}**

"_Now! Jump towards the foe and obliterate him with a blazing kick!_"

Irei took two steps before jumping into the air, her posture switching to that of a flying side kick as parts of her armour suddenly unleashed powerful bursts of flames that propelled her forward at a much faster pace towards Houndeyes. As she did so, the phantom four-tailed kitsune that formed her armour manifested once more, this time wrapping its tails around Irei's right leg before spinning them like a drill.

Unable to dodge in time, Houndeyes took the full brunt of the attack against his chest, the flames from Irei's feet blasting right out his back right before the impact threw him across the battlefield once more.

A bright red Seimei Star appeared around the chest of Houndeyes as he remained in the air, specifically where Irei had made contact, which momentarily confused the badly injured Darkened until he suddenly realized what it might be.

"Checkmate," Irei declared as the Houndeyes Darkened loudly exploded into a pillar of purple flames and black smoke darker than the night sky.

As the smoke and dust cleared, the ghost of Kimiya Akitsugu is seen floating in mid-air unconscious. A strange coin dropped to the ground below him, shattering into particles upon impact. The black veins began disappearing and his skin turned back to a healthy pink, although he was also becoming slightly translucent.

"_You did it, Kotoe. That ghost should be back to normal by now,_" Dōman said.

Akitsugu suddenly stirred, righting himself into a standing position and clutching his chest and head while looking about his surroundings with a confused expression.

"Oh, ow, what happened? Wait, why am I here? I'm dead, should I not be on the other side by now?" he asked.

"Hey, you, you sure you're back to normal?" Irei asked.

"You can see me?" the ghost replied with a question.

"Dōman, what is going on?"

"_Well, the Dive finishing attack not only destroys the DarKoin that provides the energy that transformed them into monsters, it also cleanses a ghost of any sins he or she committed when they had just died, along with most of their negative emotions. Anyways, the threat is no more. Pull the lever back to its original position and take out the MonScroll to de-transform._"

Jerking the lever of the Yōkai Driver and removing the Kitsune MonScroll, Irei turned back to Kotoe while the puppet spirit of Dōman re-appeared.

"What is going on?"

"Akitsugu?"

The ghost of Akitsugu turned to see Miss Kimiya walking towards him, followed by Kenji, with Tobias and Daisuke tagging along.

"Sachiko? And is that Kenji? He's all grown up…"

"You're back… You've finally turned back to the man I loved since high school…"

"I did all of these?" Akitsugu asked as he surveyed the damage.

"It's a long story, but perhaps now is not the time to be discussing this. Kimiya Akitsugu, right? Your stay in the world of the living has long past the deadline. It's time," Dōman said.

"What, wait? I mean…" Miss Kimiya protested.

"Lady, I ain't that heartless. Say what you're going to say, exchange your final goodbyes and then I'll proceed to send him up," Dōman explained.

"Wait, send him up? You mean you can help him pass over in your current state?"

"Of course! Don't underestimate me just because my soul has become so deformed."

As the group was distracted, Fujisaka Masaharu attempted to sneak away, but then found himself staring at the shoes of Hirai Sousuke and his son, along with a dozen police officers.

"We heard everything. Fujisaka Masaharu, you're under arrest for the murder of Kimiya Akitsugu on the fourteenth of June, year 2018. Cuff him and take him away," Sousuke ordered.

Immediately, Minoru and two other cops were on Fujisaka, slapping handcuffs on his wrists and taking him away as he protested his innocence.

"Well, that's one scumbag off the streets, or is it three?" Tobias said to Daisuke, who nodded in agreement.

"… And I am so sorry for all the pain I've caused you. Sachiko, promise me you'll take care of Kenji and make sure he grows up to be a fine man," Akitsugu said to his wife.

"I can do that. I promise," Miss Kimiya replied, a tear running down her cheek.

Akitsugu reached out to touch his wife's hands, but his own hands phased through hers instead, causing both of them to sigh in defeat. Seeing this, Kotoe could not help but feel sad for her neighbour.

"All right, Akitsugu. It is time. Come, it is time for you to rest in peace," Dōman said as he swung his miniature hands a few times.

A circle of light formed underneath Akitsugu's feet before transforming into a pillar, with Akitsugu in the middle of it as Dōman made an incantation to send him off.

"I love you both," Akitsugu said before he began dissipating along with the pillar of light.

In a few seconds, the light was gone, and so was the ghost of Kimiya Akitsugu…

* * *

A young man, probably in his early twenties, wearing a black patchwork jacket with strange oversized sleeves designed to look like wings them over a striped t-shirt and a pair of jeans, smirked as he watched Akitsugu having the rites performed on him so that he can finally move on.

"What an unexpected development… Better inform the others about this Irei, and to rub it into Kobara's face on how his Darkened was so easily defeated…" he commented to himself before leaving the scene.

* * *

"How did it go?" Daisuke asked Kotoe as she showed up for work, having navigated through the repair works that now occupied the museum.

"Difficult. I'm going to miss her and Kenji," Kotoe replied.

The incident that occurred yesterday was still fresh in Kotoe's mind. She never expected someone to force ghosts into becoming monsters, or rather, manipulated them using their emotions. The thought of it made her angry, and after a discussion with Dōman last night, she has agreed to hold on to the Yōkai Driver.

"So, you're a Kamen Rider now. Unexpected," Daisuke commented.

"Yeah. I guess life has a funny way of dishing out the unexpected, huh?"

"Well, don't let the superhero thing get into your head. I've got you scheduled for a tour this afternoon for a bunch of German tourists, and an evening tour with some French delegates…"

"You're kind of taking things too easy, considering what happened yesterday."

Daisuke looked up.

"Frankly speaking, I'm trying to get some normalcy back. Not to mention half the guides quitted yesterday, so I have to have you run extra shifts…"

"Well, you know where to find me, boss," Kotoe replied before leaving, the Yōkai Driver barely visible in her half-zipped bag.

Once Kotoe left the office, Daisuke shook his head and picked up the picture of himself and Kazue with a young Kotoe inside.

"I'm sorry, Kazue… I know you wanted me to keep Kotoe safe, but she's dived straight into the battle we wanted to keep her out of… But I won't let this deter me. I swear I will not let any harm befell her," Daisuke swore with a determined look on his face, unaware that Kotoe was actually outside his door eavesdropping on him…

* * *

**Houndeyes Darkened**

**\- Identity:** Kimiya Akitsugu

**\- Motif:** Cerberus, hounds

**\- Weapons/Abilities: **Explosive strikes, energy blast from eyes on all three heads

**\- Fairy Tale/Fable Basis:** _The Tinderbox_ by Hans Christian Andersen

**\- Status:** Passed on to the afterlife


End file.
